Formed in Liverpool in 1853 when the Harrison brothers,
who had previously been partners in the firm of George Brown and Harrison,
took over the company on the death
of George Brown and renamed it Thos & Jas. Harrison. The original trade was
the importation of brandy from the Charente region of France. In 1860 the company
took delivery of their first two steamships and gradually disposed of their
sailing
ships, the last one being sold in 1889. In 1871 the Charente SS Co. was formed,
managed by T & J. Harrison. John T. Rennie, Sons & Co Aberdeen Direct Line
was taken over in 1911 together with their fleet of seven ships and passenger
services
to Natal. The Rankin, Gilmour fleet was also taken over in 1918 and the Crown
Line fleet of Prentice, Service & Henderson, Glasgow in 1920. The same year,
the fleet of Scrutton, Sons & Co., London was acquired. During World War I,
27 ships were lost to enemy action and a further 30 in WWII. By 1988 with the
decline
in British shipping, the company only owned three ships and chartered several
more, but have subsequently withdrawn from shipowning.

Many thanks to Ted Finch for his assistance in collecting this data.
The following list was extracted from various sources. This is not an
all inclusive list but should only be used as a guide. If you would like
to know more about a vessel, visit the Ship
Descriptions (onsite) or Immigrant
Shipweb site.

1941 sunk by German air attack at Suda Bay in evacuation
from Crete, salvaged by Germans renamed Pluto, 1944 captured by
Allies at Trieste renamed Empire Wily, 1946 returned to Harrison
Line reverted to Dalesman, 1959 scrapped.

1939 captured and sunk by German battleship ADMIRAL
GRAF SPEE in South Atlantic.

8,196

Inanda (1)

1904

1911 taken over with J. T. Rennie fleet, 1920 sold
to Wilson Line, Hull renamed
Orlando.

4,090

Inanda (2)

1925

1940 bombed and sunk in London
Docks, repaired and renamed Empire Explorer for Ministry of Supply,
managed by T & J. Harrison, 1942 torpedoed, shelled and sunk by
U-Boat off Trinidad.

5,985

Ingelli

1897

1911 taken over with J. T. Rennie fleet, 1913 sold
to Honduras renamed Tegucigalpa.

2,928

Ingoma

1913

1915-1917 troopship, 1937 sold to Italy renamed
Giovanni Batista.

5,686

Inkonka

1900

1911 taken over with J. T. Rennie fleet, 1916 sold
to David MacIver renamed Tuscany.

3,430

Inkosi (1)

1902

1911 taken over with J. T. Rennie fleet, 1918 torpedoed
and sunk by U-Boat off Galloway.

3,576

Inkosi (2)

1937

INKOSI (2) 1937 6618 tons,
1940 sunk by air attack in London Docks, raised and renamed Empire
Chivalry for MOWT with Harrison Line managers, 1946 returned to
Harrison Line renamed Planter, 1958 scrapped.

6,618

Insizwa

1899

1911 taken over with J. T. Rennie fleet, 1913 sold
to Italy renamed Tolemaide.

2,984

Instructor

1912

ex- Saint Dunstan,1918 taken over with Rankin, Gilmour
fleet renamed Instructor, 1918 sunk in collision with U.S. Transport
AMERICA in Western Approaches.

ex- London Merchant, 1935 purchased from Furness,
Withy & Co renamed Politician, 1941 wrecked on Isle of Eriskay,
Hebrides with cargo of whisky which was looted by the islanders.
(Film "Whisky Galore" was based on this incident!)